JOHANNESBURG - The aerial cableway in Hartbeespoort says one of its bars on the mountain caught fire when it was struck by lightning during last night's heavy storm.

Hartbeespoort Dam and its surrounding areas were hit by a hail storm with residents saying the hail stones were bigger than golf balls.

Property including vehicles were damaged.

The cableway company says all of its customers were brought back to ground before the storm hit and the cableway equipment was not damaged by the storm.

General manager Ian Gunn said, "We started at the cableway and went up to the mountain and assessed the area, it was only the lookout bar that was on fire. We contained the fire and extinguished it. It's a terrible loss."